London Tibetfest 2017

To celebrate Free Tibet's 30th anniversary, we are hosting the first ever London Tibetfest! A weekend-long celebration of Tibetan culture, history and activism.

Location: Candid Arts Trust, 3 Torrens Street, London EC1V 1NQ

Date: 21st & 22nd of October

Time: From 11am-10pm on Saturday and 10am-6pm on Sunday

The festival brings together a wide range of content, covering many different aspects of the Tibetan story. We are very excited to welcome our special guests, monks from the Gaden Ngari Khangtsen Monastery, who will be opening our festival with a beautiful ritual before creating an intricate 'Compassion Buddha Mandala'.

There will be educational displays on Tibet's history and political situation, art exhibitions, campaigning activities, and stalls selling Free Tibet merchandise and Tibetan products made by refugees in Dharamsala, India.

We also have an events schedule full of talks, arts & crafts, live music, dance and various workshops and classes (see further down the page for details).

One £10 ticket gets you access to the entire weekend, including all the workshops and talks. (Kids 12 and under are free).

Ticket pre-sales have now ended but don't worry, there are still plenty of tickets available to be purchased on the door. Door tickets are still £10 but please bring cash.

Our very special guests

We are honoured to announce that we will be blessed by the presence of six Tibetan Buddhist Monks from the Gaden Ngari Khangtsen Monastery. These monks, exiled from Tibet and practising in South India, will be with us for the whole festival creating an intricate sacred sand mandala and performing various ceremonies and blessings.

The monks are on tour in the UK to raise awareness of ancient Tibetan culture and traditions, to share their blessings spreading loving kindness and compassion and engage with communities around the globe to promote world peace.

They will start the weekend by conducting an opening ceremony with multiphonic chanting and prayers. Then, throughout the festival, they will be demonstrating various cultural and monastic activities and rituals. Check out the schedule below for some of the great events they will be putting on.

The monks will also have very limited space to do personal blessings or Tibetan Astrology readings (for a small donation). If you would like to book in for one of these exclusive consultations, make sure you arrive early so that you can reserve your spot with them.

The Sand Mandala

Over the course of the entire weekend (when they aren't busy teaching or performing), the Gaden Ngari Khangtsen monks will be building a sacred sand mandala. Of all the artistic traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, that of painting with coloured sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibet this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means “mandala of coloured powders.” Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days, or sometimes weeks.

A 'Compassion Buddha Mandala' will be created at our festival which is infused with the intention of promoting peace and spreading love and kindness. Once the mandala has been completed the healing process is fulfilled when the sand is swept away and half is distributed to the audience at the closing ceremony, while the remainder is carried to a nearby body of moving water, where it is deposited. The waters then carry the healing blessing to the ocean, and from there it spreads throughout the world for planetary healing.

The sweeping away of the mandala also stands as a metaphor of impermanence, key to the Buddhist teaching and practice.

*Please note that this is a preliminary schedule and is subject to change.

Get your tickets

Tickets are available now and are just £10 per person, which gets you access to the entire weekend's schedule, including all the classes and workshops. Please keep in mind that some of these events will have limited space and may fill up, so please try to arrive early for the events if you don't want to miss out. Upon first arrival you will be given a wristband at the door which will allow you to leave and re-enter the venue as you wish throughout the festival.

Ticket pre-sales have now ended but don't worry, there are still plenty of tickets available to be purchased on the door. Door tickets are still £10 but please bring cash.